Fulham boss Marco Silva blasted referee Darren Bond for failing to red card Blues full-back Leif Davis during the first half of this afternoon’s 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage.
In the 27th minute Davis, who later conceded the second penalty from which the Whites snatched their point, ran across to halt Harry Wilson’s progress as the Wales international threatened to break through behind the Blues’ backline. Referee Bond showed a yellow card.
The home support chanted their dissatisfaction with the referee as he left the field at the end and Silva could see their point.
"I’m on the same page as the Fulham fans,” Silva said. "They go in the same direction and it was a difficult afternoon for the ref and was hard to explain some decisions.
"It’s a clear red card. We cannot control it. The performance from the referee was not at the level the Premier League demands, in my opinion.
"When [Wilson] touched the ball he was going one on one with the goalkeeper. It’s difficult to understand.
"It was something I can’t control but I don’t want to get in trouble so it’s better to stop in this moment.”
The Portuguese head coach was frustrated by his team’s overall display but still felt they deserved to take all three points.
"We have to be disappointed with our performance, definitely,” he insisted. "It was a very good first 30 minutes. We were the team in control and we had two or three clear chances to score, one with Raul [Jimenez], which was a great save from the goalkeeper.
"We didn’t give up many chances for them. With [Liam] Delap and [Sammie] Szmodics, they have players on the attacking line who are quick and can create moments around the box, but the reality is that before 1-0, they didn’t.
"We lost control of the game when we went behind 1-0. We were too soft with the way we defended that moment. It’s a mistake from us and they scored.
"The fighting spirit was there. Even in difficult circumstances with some decisions going against us, they showed the character.
"If somebody has to win the game, it should be ourselves. We created more chances, we were more on the front foot and we did everything apart from score more goals than Ipswich, so we have to be disappointed to not win the game.”
Jimenez’s goals were his 54th and 55th in the Premier League, making him the highest-scoring Mexican in English top-flight history ahead of former Manchester United and West Ham forward Chicharito.
"It’s an incredible achievement,” Silva added. "I’m really pleased for him because we all know he had a really bad moment [with his head injury], not just in his career but in his life. He was really down when we signed him, but we showed trust in him and it’s paying off.
"The first two or three months at the club, he was not scoring and everyone was asking why we took the decision to bring him into the football club. We kept trusting him, he kept working really hard and it’s so nice to see him achieve an incredible number.
"It’s an honour for him to achieve these numbers and he will be in Premier League history for many, many years. Let’s hope there’s much more to come from him and I’m here to help him.
"It’s not just the goals today. The way he won fouls, the way he was always there to help the team. We changed his position in the second half and he did really well. Let’s hope he can get even more confidence in the future.”